Try the Pie
by crazyredhead93
Summary: One man collapses in a diner from an surgery 20 years ago. Soon people all over Haven begin suffering increasing pain from injuries that are years, even decades, old. Can Nathan and Audrey stop this particular trouble before people die from old injuries?
1. Pie and Government Conspiracies

**Rated: T for violence and language  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the characters I made and this plotline  
Summary: One man collapses in a diner from an incision made 20 years ago. Soon people all over Haven begin suffering increasing pain from injuries that are years, even decades, old. Can Nathan and Audrey stop this particular trouble before people die from old injuries?**

George Ellison loved pie. He ate at least one slice a day, despite his doctor's constant admonitions, and four to five times a week he ate at Maura's Diner. In George Ellison's opinion, Maura's Diner was the only place that served decent pie in all of Haven, which is why, on July 3rd, he was seated at the Diner, eating a piece of raspberry pie.

Maura's Diner was relatively full on July 3rd, the ladies from the annual Bingo game at the church had stopped by for coffee, a few townsfolk were sitting and eating their lunch at various tables, George Ellison included, and the occasional tourist would stop in every once in a while. Maura herself was at home with a severe case of stomach flu, so her son Matthew was taking orders and waiting tables.

The bell above the door rang as the door was pushed open, but George did not look up. The pie he was enjoying was delicious and the newspaper article in front of him was engrossing, and George didn't much care who was coming into the Diner.

Matthew didn't much care either, but the ten dollars an hour he was being paid encouraged him to smile at the people walking in and point them to an open table, the open table right next to George. Matthew took the newcomers' orders and ran them back to the kitchen, a small room in the back equipped with only one stove, one oven, and a freezer. Maura was saving to get it expanded, but money was tight and the Diner was barely turning enough profit to keep itself running.

The two people sitting at the table next to George were not locals, anyone in the town could tell just from looking at them. Haven was a small enough town that people knew their neighbors and their neighbors' neighbors. The older of the two, a woman in her late twenties, had dark hair falling halfway down her back and a black jacket over a bright red T-shirt on proclaiming that Buffy had staked Edward. The younger, a blonde, wore a floral print dress which was much more subdued than her older companion's outfit. They made a unique pair, but none of the other patrons paid any attention to them. That is until George fell to the ground screaming.

The first twinge in George's stomach was easily ignored, passed off as a small bit of indigestion or simply his stomach growling for more pie. The second was more pronounced, causing George to wince. The third sent him rolling to the floor. His entire right side had erupted in fire, starting near his hip and spreading outwards. He had never felt anything so painful in his considerably long life.

Within seconds the older of the two newcomers was on the ground too, stripping off her jacket and placing it under George's head. She was muttering words that George assumed were supposed to be soothing, but through the haze he could not make them out.

The other costumers in Maura's Diner were frozen, either by the sheer surprise of a man they knew collapsing or by the noise of pure pain he was making. The woman on the ground next to George had to throw a box of napkins at Matthew to tear his attention away from the man screaming.

"Call an ambulance _now_!" She ordered as calmly as she could. "Tell them to hurry."

Matthew nodded and looked around dazed for a few moments before his eyes finally rested on a phone. Relieved to have something to do, a purpose to distract him from the commotion, he dialed 911 as quickly as possible.

The woman remained at George's side, switching from the soothing talk she'd been giving him to more direct questions.

"Sir, I need you to tell me where it hurts," she said loudly, but calmly; trying to break through the screaming. "Sir please, tell me where the pain is coming from."

The question broke through the haze of pain, just barely, and George pointed to his side. The woman's face swam in front of him, the edges of his vision tinged with a dark red that was quickly becoming blacker.

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"Sir, I need you to step off of that railing!" Audrey Parker yelled out of the second story bay window she was standing next to. "Just come down and we can talk about it!"

"So you can probe my brain?" James McKinley yelled back, "You and your government masters! That's why you came to Haven, isn't it? You're part of some scientific experiment, looking for aliens!"

Audrey sighed, it was only the first call of the day and she was already being accused of being part of a secret government experiment. This was not looking like a good day. McKinley was hanging over a balcony railing and threatening to jump for reasons unknown to everyone.

"I promise if you come down, I won't probe your brain," she called, "In fact, I'll give you a free pass from all federal brain probing in the future."

McKinley seemed to consider this and took a step back from the railing, giving Nathan a chance to grab him and pull him back into the house.

"Government pigs! Trying to kill us all, well I know about your plans. You won't get my brain!" The ranting continued the entire walk back to the car and as Audrey and Nathan shoved the man into the back seat.

"Dibs on not riding in the car back with him," Audrey offered weakly, dreading the trek back to the police station, although the guy should probably be taken straight to the Freddie.

"Sorry, rookie gets the crappy jobs," Nathan shot back as he locked the car and reached for his radio.

"Rookie? I'm sorry but I think I have just as much experience as you."

"Okay, then new girl gets the crappy jobs. You like the weirdness here, so you get to drive him back to the station."

Audrey punched her partner in the shoulder, not that it had any effect, and pulled open the driver's side door. "Fine, but you owe me for this Nathan." She put the key in the ignition and was just about to start the car when Nathan stopped her.

"Wait," he called, then handed her the radio, "Listen to this."

She held the radio to her ear. "…Ambulance dispatched to Maura's Diner. Guy on the line says George Ellison's on the ground screaming his lungs out. Sounds like it's pretty bad over there," the voice on the other side of the radio said.

"So does this mean we're taking a detour?" Audrey asked tiredly.

"Afraid so," Nathan answered, taking a look back at the man still ranting about government conspiracies.

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"Is this where it hurts?" The woman lightly touched the center of the fiery pain shooting through his body, sending knives outwards through his bloodstream and causing a new onslaught of screaming. The woman quickly drew her hand away. "Alright, I guess that's where it's coming from."

"What do you think it is?" One of the men behind George had apparently been startled from his shock.

"I don't know," the woman answered curtly, "Appendicitis is my best guess, seeing as the pain is right in the area of the appendix, although this pain seems extreme for appendicitis."

"Are you like a doctor or something?" The man asked.

Her response was cut off as George's sobbing began to subside. "Shit," she spat, grabbing his hand and squeezing.

"What's his name?" She asked the man who had suddenly become so talkative.

"G-George," he managed to stutter out. "What's wrong, he stopped screaming, isn't that a good thing."

"No, it is not," she answered as she lifted up George's closing eyelids and peered at his retinas. "He's going into shock and that is most definitely not good. George, I need you to stay with me. George! You need to stay awake!"

"You," she pointed at Matthew, "Did you call the paramedics? Are they coming?"

"Y-yes," stammered Matthew, "But I don't know how long it'll take for them to get here."

In response, the faint whirling of an ambulance siren sounded through the distance, growing quickly louder.

As most of the patrons' eyes, including the woman caring for George, were drawn quickly to the window in the hopes that help would arrive at the diner as quickly as possible, Matthew glanced at George in time to see him mouth the words "_Not appendix"_

**A/N- Should I finish? I have most of the story planned out, just not written down. Reviews are love :)**_  
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	2. Doc Knows Best

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters :)**

Audrey and Nathan were riding behind the ambulance, which was helping to cut a hole through traffic, with the radio turned up as loud as it could go in an attempt to drown out the continuing ranting of James McKinley. They got to the diner just in the nick of time; as Audrey was pretty sure she would have shot the man if she had to sit in the car for another minute with him.

The paramedics burst from the ambulance, one bolting straight for the diner while the other swung around the back of the truck to grab a gurney and whatever other supplies might be called for. Nathan ran after the first paramedic into the diner, leaving Audrey to 'guard' McKinley until another officer could come to transport him back to the station.

_You so owe me for this Wournos, _she thought bitterly.

Inside the diner was chaotic. Half of the customers were still at their tables and booths, staring mutedly at the man on the ground, while the other half was bumping into each other trying to do something. Unfortunately, all they were doing was making it hard for the paramedic and Nathan to get through. Several people were yelling at Nathan and the paramedic all at once, telling them what they'd seen, where they'd been when it happened, and what they'd been eating.

Nathan waved them off, pushing his way through the crowd to the eye of the storm, a ten foot circle with only three occupants, two women he had never seen and George Ellison. The older of the two women was waving him and the paramedic over hurriedly.

"I don't know what happened, he just started screaming and collapsed in pain," she said as calmly, and quickly, as possible, "I think he just went into shock though, he's barely responsive. He said it hurt around here," she pointed to a spot on her own side, "I think it might be appendicitis."

The paramedic nodded his thanks and began loading George onto the gurney that his partner had brought over.

"You do this often?" Nathan asked the woman as the gurney was wheeled out of the diner towards the ambulance.

"You mean trying to assist the elderly with excruciating pain?" She shot back a bit sarcastically, "It's a daily occurrence."

Nathan laughed, "Nathan Wournos," he said offering his hand. She shook it.

"Alice Walker."

"Are you a doctor, Ms. Walker?"

""Something like that. I'm a pathologist, but I went to med school. Appendicitis is pretty much day one material there."

Nathan was about to respond when the owner's son walked up behind him. "Um…Officer Wournos?" He said quietly.

"Hey Matthew. Alice Walker, this is Matthew Ryan, his mom owns the place."

Matthew nodded at Alice, "We kinda met earlier. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. I heard you tell the paramedics that you thought it was appendicitis."

"Yeah," said Alice, "His side hurt, pretty much the same place as where an appendix is located."

"Well, right before the ambulances arrived, I saw him say something, something about it not being his appendix." Matthew was looking less and less sure of himself, but Nathan could tell he wasn't lying.

"I didn't hear him say anything," Alice argued defensively.

"Because he didn't say it exactly, he kind of mouthed it."

"So you read his lips?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I got pretty good at it in school. My friend was in the class across the hallway, and we used to talk all the time through the windows."

"The man was in shock, he wasn't communicating with anyone," Alice said, a bit irritatedly, "and this was in the middle of a crisis situation, not math class. Maybe you were imagin-"

"I wasn't imagining it," Matthew stated firmly. "Look, I'm just telling you what I saw, can I go now?"

Nathan nodded, and then pulled out his phone. "I'll let the hospital know, just in case. Ms. Walker, if you could stay for just a minute, I just have a few questions."

Alice nodded and then glanced back at her table where the younger girl was still sitting while Nathan relayed what they'd just heard to the hospital. "Jack, we're gonna be staying here a little while while. Why don't you run out to the car and get a book or something. I don't want you complaining about being bored."

"Me? Bored in this Podunk little town in the ass end of nowhere? Never," the blonde girl leaned back in her seat stubbornly. "I can entertain myself just fine."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Alice muttered before turning back to Nathan.

"Sister?" He asked, motioning back towards Jack.

"Daughter," she answered, then seeing the look on his face corrected herself, "Adopted daughter. I know, we look about ten years apart."

Nathan laughed, "Okay, I believe you. Now, I just need you to tell me what happened. Did you see anything suspicious, anything at all?"

"No. I mean, I had just walked in maybe three minutes before at the most, but they guy was eating alone at his table, there was no one around and no one approached him. Why? You don't think somebody did this on purpose, do you?"

"I'm just trying to get the facts," Nathan answered evasively. He wasn't nearly as quick to jump to supernatural conclusions as Audrey, but he was the one who had admitted the troubles were back, so he was keeping his mind open. The last thing he wanted was to miss a clue and find out this was more than appendicitis later. "I just have one more question. I know you think it's appendicitis, but is there anything that might have suggested something else?"

"Other than the abnormal amount of pain the guy seems to be in, no. It was his right side that he pointed to."

"Could the abnormal pain be a sign of any other illness?"

"Maybe if he swallowed a knife, I guess. Look, if an appendix is about to burst, it can be painful as hell, so maybe that's it." Nathan could tell that Alice was getting exasperated. "I saw a very painful case of appendicitis. You'll have to talk to his doctor or wait for the lab results if you want another opinion."

"Thank you for your time Ms. Walker," Nathan said, "You're free to go."

Alice started walking back towards he daughter before turning to Nathan, "Do you always investigate medical emergencies this thoroughly officer?"

"Only on Mondays and Wednesdays," he answered jokingly before walking out the door to join Audrey.

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"Did you have fun in there?" Audrey asked bitterly. The officer had just relieved her of McKinley and her ears were still ringing from his constant shouting.

"Just appendicitis, according to the doctor who happened to be sitting next to Ellison at the diner when he collapsed." Nathan answered, climbing into the truck. "Although the kid who was waiting tables seems to think he saw George Ellison saying something about it not being his appendix."

"So, is it regular appendicitis or Haven appendicitis?" Audrey asked enthusiastically and Nathan sighed.

"Audrey, you can't go looking for the troubles everywhere or you'll miss important facts. Sometimes appendicitis is just appendicitis. Until the hospital calls and says something different, we have a case of appendicitis." He threw the truck into gear and began to pull out of the parking lot.

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As soon as Nathan and Audrey pulled into the station, Chief Wornous turned them around. "Maggie Jaredson down on Beach Street just called in about a gunshot wound. EMTs are on their way."

"Is it too much to ask for a quiet day?" Audrey asked, looking longingly at the station as Nathan drove out of the lot. The last two weeks had been filled with prank calls, runaway kids, three tourists who had fallen in the harbor, and a murder. The troubles had been quiet the past few weeks and Audrey had to admit to herself she was looking for one. She wanted something interesting to work on, not looking for a kid who had decided to walk to the other end of town looking for ice cream without telling his parents.

Beach Street, it turned out, was nowhere near the beach, harbor, or any sand or water. It was towards the inland edge of town, hidden by a small enclave of trees. The road was narrow and in desperate need of repair, although the houses were in much better condition. The one Nathan pulled up to, Maggie Jameson's, was a three story Victorian with a porch wrapping around and a large flower garden bordering the porch.

The house would have been beautiful under other circumstances, but at the present, there were earsplitting screams echoing from the inside. Both Nathan and Audrey unclipped their guns from their holsters as they got out of the truck.

"How far out are the paramedics?" Audrey whispered as they crept towards the house. She wanted nothing more than to rush into the house towards the screaming woman, but instinct told her that if the shooter was still in the house then that would just be making her a sitting target.

"Five minutes out," he whispered back, taking the lead and walking slowly up the steps. Opening the door, he shouted, "Miss Jameson, it's the police! We're coming in." He nodded to Audrey and the two went in back to back, making sure to search the foyer before moving towards the back of the house where the screaming was coming from.

They entered the kitchen, looking in every direction for a shooter, but the only person they saw was Maggie Jameson writhing on the floor.

"Nathan," Audrey said, just loudly enough to be heard over the screaming, "There seems to be something missing."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, in my experience," Audrey answered looking at the clean, white kitchen floor surrounding Maggie. "Bullet wounds bleed. A lot."

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews :) I hope you liked this chapter, sorry it wasn't more exciting, it was more of an introductions chapter. I'll try to post as frequently as possible, but at the moment I'm on vacation and the next three weeks are EXTREMELY busy, so please be patient.**


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